POS systems, which are a type of sales management system, are commonly used in the retail industry in supermarkets, for example. In such systems, plural terminal devices (registers) connected with a server over a network operate according to an application installed on each terminal device and perform various processes. A printer and other peripheral devices are normally disposed to each terminal device and perform such operations as outputting receipts and coupons and scanning checks as instructed by the application. Systems that are configured similarly to POS systems that produce such output include systems used in hospitals and systems used by shipping companies.
After such a business system that uses such peripheral devices is introduced, modifying the system by adding functions or replacing peripheral devices may be necessitated by improvements in technology and changing business needs. Accommodating such system improvements, however, often requires changing the application program.
However, because such systems are central to business operations and are in constant use, and are often connected to other systems in complex ways, modifying the application is usually not easy.
This need to change the application program has been addressed in various ways as described below.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-H08-69427, for example, describes a device that renders a modem function in a personal computer that enables eliminating the microprocessor and memory that are required in a conventional modem without needing to modify an existing application program.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2006-338443 describes a device that can access one communication port and cause a printer connected to another communication port to print simultaneously so that duplicate copies can be printed without modifying the application.